"George beats people up for something so minor?" Perhaps I shouldn't be worried about Alejandro's bodyguard. It was George I needed to avoid. Would he send thugs to attack me after this deal? Now I really wanted to get out of town.
Alejandro's face fell as he sighed. "George does whatever it takes. He's brutal. And after everyone heard that thugs busted up a beauty salon and beat up the owner, nobody wanted to go there anymore. It basically drove them out of business."
"What an ass! I can see why you don't want to mess with that guy." I didn't want to mess with George, either. This con might be much more difficult than I expected.
Suddenly, the intercom beeped next to Alejandro, and he picked up the handset. "What, Udo? . . .Really?" He squinted at me. "Udo says that someone's been following the limousine since we picked you up."
Stupid me! This date was a huge mistake. First I was fraternizing with the mark, and now I had to explain to him why Vance was following us.
I looked out the back window to be sure, then I grabbed the handset so I could talk to Udo. "Is it that skinny guy in the dark gray sedan?" Udo confirmed my suspicions, so I spoke to both him and Alejandro. "It's my cousin, Vance. He gets a little overprotective of me sometimes. Sorry about him, but he's harmless."
Alejandro chuckled and hung up the intercom. "I hope he doesn't make a scene. I'd hate to have to sic Udo on him."
The limousine slowed down as it approached a huge building. I saw a large crowd of formally dressed people milling around. Too many, in my opinion. "Where are we?"
"It's a party being thrown by No Moss, the magazine that interviewed me yesterday. Lots of rich and famous people here tonight. You'll love it. Plus, you get to be my date." He grinned. "Make your friends jealous."
A streak of panic shot through me. He'd promised that he would keep me to himself tonight, but I should have known that could never happen. It was one thing to be with the incredible Alejandro but another thing entirely to be at a venue so full of famous people and no doubt plenty of paparazzi, too. They'd say, "Oh, are you dating Alejandro?" And I'd struggle to avoid saying, "No, I'm just stealing his money."
Sooner or later, someone was going to recognize me, for my pottery or for my youthful exploits. I had to get out.
"I'm sorry, Alejandro. I can't do this."
"Of course you can. It'll be fun. The No Moss people will love you. Wouldn't you like to be seen with me in their gossip pages?"